The Penn GSE Center for Professional Learning designs and delivers professional learning opportunities that support educators, leaders, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals to deepen their knowledge, build their networks, and grow their careers. The Center for Professional Learning offers Virtual Institutes, Certificate Programs, and a variety of webinars and workshops throughout the year.

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Leadership Summit: Communication for the Modern Leaders | April 19-20, 2024

Professional Learning Summits are highly experiential and engaging professional development experiences. During your time with us on campus, you will take part in networking opportunities, seminars and workshops led by Penn faculty and experts, connect and collaborate with past, current, and future certificate program participants, and get energized to teach and lead with passion, purpose, and skill.

Certificate Programs 

Penn GSE certificate programs are our most advanced and rigorous professional learning programs. Certificate programs extend over the course of several months and offer you a rich, in-depth professional learning experience. If you are a professional who is looking to engage in advanced professional development in a particular area of interest, a certificate program may be the right fit for you. 

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Executive Coaching

The Executive Coaching certificate program aims to empower leaders with the tools and strategies needed to foster positive transformation in others. Led by faculty experts in adult learning, our program provides evidence-based education tailored to help you achieve your coaching goals effectively.

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International College Advising

The International College Advising certificate program allows you to develop your capacity as an international college counselor to better advise your students who are seeking higher education experiences outside their home countries. Developed by faculty at Penn GSE, this program is the only comprehensive college advising program designed for international college counselors.

Leading School Transformation

The Penn GSE Leading School Transformation certificate program gives you the tools to bring your vision to life, design compelling signature learning experiences for adults, and identify and overcome resistance faced when change is introduced into an educational environment. By the end of this program, you will have a plan to drastically improve your educational organization. 

Mental Health

The Mental Health Certificate will provide leaders and educators with the skills and frameworks they need to navigate emerging mental health challenges faced in their organizations.

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Strategic Leadership in Education

The Strategic Leadership in Education certificate program provides a sustained, rigorous, and cohort-based leadership development experience that empowers you to embrace your leadership role with purpose, confidence, and skill.

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Collegiate Athletics for Senior Leaders

The Collegiate Athletics for Senior Leaders certificate program empowers you to learn what questions to ask (and what answers you need to know) to support a healthy, sustainable, and mission-aligned athletics department. This program is ideal for presidential cabinet members, new presidents, senior leaders, and those who aspire to move into those roles. This institute can strengthen your candidacy with this unique, first of its kind educational certificate.

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Data Science Methods

Through the Data Science Methods for Digital Learning Platforms certificate program, you will learn to use both algorithms designed specifically for digital learning platforms and how to effectively apply algorithms developed for more general purposes to digital learning platform data. 

Fostering Conversations in Polarized Times

Fostering Conversations in Polarized Times is designed for K-16 educators, administrators, and leaders from all disciplinary backgrounds looking to deepen their understanding of issues surrounding civic discourse in educational settings. During this one-day program, learn from experts around the importance of supporting difficult conversations in polarized times and ways to address the challenges this presents. Along the way, work closely with small groups of peers to examine shared challenges from your professional work and connect with and learn from a professional network that shares your commitment to this important and complex work.

Global Education Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Global Education Entrepreneurship and Innovation certificate program is the world’s first online program designed for education industry leaders, school leadership teams, entrepreneurs in education, researchers and investors, or anyone interested in addressing critical issues in education through innovation. 

Health Professions Education

The Health Professions Education certificate program is an accelerated, interprofessional program designed for current and aspiring clinical faculty in our global community who are involved in training tomorrow's healthcare professionals. The program prepares you to design, deliver, and evaluate sophisticated education programs throughout various healthcare disciplines.

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Instructional Coaching

The Instructional Coaching certificate program is designed for teacher mentors, coaches, and instructional leaders looking to develop the skills and tools necessary to create deliberate, collaborative, and flexible instructional coaching experiences for new and experienced colleagues.

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Introduction to Teaching with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) promise to transform teaching and learning. In this program, you’ll have a chance to explore big ideas, design learning activities, and collaborate with peers as you try new approaches to implementing artificial intelligence into your classroom.

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Leading Effective Teams

The Penn GSE certificate Leading Effective Teams is an interprofessional program that will provide you with strategic tools and frameworks to identify problems and leverage opportunities to strengthen your team and your organization. 

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Project-Based Learning

The Project-Based Learning certificate program is designed for current educators who strive to create rich, meaningful, and rigorous learning experiences through student-centered approaches to teaching and learning. Developed in collaboration with the Science Leadership Academy, the Workshop School, Inquiry Schools, and EL Education, the program leverages the educational expertise of Penn GSE’s faculty and some of the most skilled and experienced student-centered learning practitioners from across the country.

Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice

The Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice program equips educators with the knowledge and skills they need to design projects that engage students in this important environmental justice work. Learn about PBL for Global Climate Justice and how to engage your students in authentic, action-oriented, and meaningful learning experiences. The time to take action on global climate change is now.

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Race, Diversity, and Equity in Higher Education

The Race, Diversity, and Equity in Higher Education certificate program is designed for higher education professionals looking to deepen their understanding and develop their leadership on historical and contemporary topics related to inclusion, justice, power, and privilege in higher education settings. 

Teaching and Leading Social-Emotional Learning

The Teaching and Leading Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Certificate program teaches you methods to support healthy and equity-oriented social and emotional learning in your classrooms, schools, and organizations.

Teaching Math Routines for Computational Fluency

Prepare to shift towards the Standards for Mathematical Practices by implementing a research-based number sense routine into your classroom. Number Talk is a high-leverage, low-risk routine focused on developing computational fluency using representations to support student learning and connecting to essential mathematics.

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TESOL Essential Series

The TESOL Essential Series Certificate program is focused on the theory and practice of language education. Participants have the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their competencies as language educators.

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Custom Programs

Penn GSE works with organizations, networks, and systems to design and deliver custom professional learning solutions that draw on the unique resources, research, and faculty of the Penn Community. Contact ProfessionalLearning@gse.upenn.edu to learn more about our custom programs.

Interested in taking one or two courses at Penn GSE? Apply for General Admission and Non-Degree Studies.

Our Faculty

The Penn GSE Center for Professional Learning engages with teaching faculty from Penn GSE, Penn, and beyond. Our teaching faculty bring a wealth of experience and expertise to our programs, and work hard to cultivate a collaborative professional learning community.

The following are some of the faculty who teach within our professional learning programs.

Penn GSE Faculty Sigal Ben-Porath
MRMJJ Presidential Professor
Ph.D., Tel Aviv University
Penn GSE Faculty Ed Brockenbrough
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Penn GSE Faculty Angela Duckworth
Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor, Penn Arts & Sciences
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Penn GSE Faculty Pam Grossman
Professor of Education
Ph.D., Stanford University
Penn GSE Faculty Zachary Herrmann
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ed.L.D., Harvard University
Penn GSE Faculty Rand Quinn
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Stanford University
Penn GSE Faculty Sharon M. Ravitch
Professor of Practice
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Penn GSE Faculty Abby Reisman
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Stanford University
Penn GSE Faculty Marsha Richardson
Senior Lecturer and Director, School and Mental Health Counseling Program
Psy.D., Widener University
Penn GSE Faculty Karen Weaver
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ed.D., University of Pennsylvania

Contact Us

Contact us at ProfessionalLearning@gse.upenn.edu

Zachary Herrmann
Executive Director

Alana Elkins
Assistant Director & Portfolio Manager